Regardless of dealing with a crushing defeat in Madhya Pradesh, the Congress can draw solace from the truth that it held by itself within the Gwalior-Chambal area, even after shedding its prime chief Jyotiraditya Scindia to the BJP.
In 2018, the Congress gained 26 seats from this area with Mr. Scindia; in 2023, the occasion managed to get 16 with out him. The BJP bagged 18 seats from this area, after the announcement of outcomes on Sunday.
Madhya Pradesh Election Outcomes 2023 | Updates
Nevertheless, within the Mahakoshal area the place the Congress president Kamal Nath’s Chhindwara constituency falls, the Opposition occasion’s tally dipped from 24 seats it gained in 2018 to 17 this yr.
The Chambal-Gwalior area, which borders Uttar Pradesh, has eight districts — Gwalior, Shivpuri, Datia, Ashoknagar, Guna, Morena, Bhind, and Sheopur.
The Congress authorities led by Kamal Nath fell in 2020 after Mr. Scindia – often known as Maharaj for his royal lineage – walked out of the occasion together with 22 of its loyalist MLAs and joined the BJP. The BJP, again then, managed to kind the federal government underneath Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Mr. Scindia was made Union Minister, and is at present holding the portfolio of Civil Aviation.
Aggressive marketing campaign
With Mr. Scindia aggressively campaigning in Gwalior-Chambal for weeks forward of the Meeting ballot, his supporters claimed that the Congress can be worn out from the area. The Congress, nonetheless, put all its efforts to make sure that it doesn’t.
“The Congress won 26 of the 34 seats in Gwalior-Chambal in 2018 while it managed to win just 12 seats from here in 2013 and 13 in 2008. The BJP, however, won seven seats from here in 2018, 20 in 2013 and 16 in 2008. It is very clear that the BJP has done better in the region before Mr. Scindia joined the party,” mentioned Sarman Nagele, a senior journalist and political analyst.
Outreach by Digvijay, son
Political observers additionally gave credit score to the large individuals outreach performed by the Congress’s Digvijay Singh and his son Jaivardhan Singh on this area, which saved the face of the Congress. For a lot of, it was ‘Raja versus Maharaj’ right here as Mr. Singh belongs to Raghogarh, an erstwhile princely State of the Gwalior Residency.
After the outcomes on Sunday, Mr. Scindia took to social media to thank the individuals of Madhya Pradesh for giving a clear sweep to the BJP.
“This Assembly election will be remembered by the public for rejecting the politics of lies, deception and caste division of the Congress and adopting the policy of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas of BJP under the leadership of Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi….” Mr. Scindia wrote. He thanked Dwelling Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J.P. Nadda and CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan for his or her tireless and devoted work in the course of the election.
Responding to Congress chief Priyanka Gandhi’s jibe questioning his ‘height’ within the BJP, Mr. Scindia mentioned: “Someone had spoken about my height. The people of Gwalior-Malwa have shown how tall they are.”
In an interview to The Hindu, Mr. Scindia made it clear that he’s not within the race for Chief Minister’s put up and can do regardless of the occasion management asks him to.
On the way forward for Mr. Scindia within the Congress, Mr. Nagele mentioned that he’s positively a CM within the ready listing. “Even if not CM, his stature in the BJP will surely be stronger then before,” he added.
In the meantime, the dangerous information for the Congress got here from the Mahakoshal area, which includes eight districts – Chhindwara, Jabalpur, Dindori, Katni, Mandla, Narsinghpur, Balaghat and Seoni. In 2018, the BJP gained 13 seats from this area and the Congress 24, whereas one seat went to the BSP. Mr. Nath himself contested from Chhindwara and gained.
Madhya Pradesh election outcomes 2023 | Key winners and losers
In 2023, the BJP’s depend in Mahakoshal was 22 whereas the Congress’s tally was diminished to 16 (until the time of submitting this report as counting was nonetheless underneath approach in just a few seats). These watching the elections carefully within the State give credit score for the acquire on this area to the presence of Union Minister Prahlad Singh Patel, who was fielded by the BJP from the Narsinghpur constituency. Mr. Patel not simply gained the seat but additionally campaigned for others, in contrast to different BJP MPs who contested within the State.